IN THREE – Ani, Athena and Ari Levesque share a sisterly moment at Panera in Hyannis. Each sister was recently awarded a $400 Martin J. Flynn scholarship. The trio graduates from Barnstable High June 11 and will attend Framingham State in the fall

Ari, Ani and Athena Levesque are used to the stares, the questions and the comments, but that doesn’t stop the identical triplets from having a little fun with their situation.

“Sometimes we tell people we’re cousins,” said Athena in response to a question about whether it gets annoying to have people ask if they’re really triplets.

For those that haven’t met the Levesque girls, to do so feels like a bit of a triple take. On first glance, the trio does appear so identical that telling them apart is head-spinning.

Spend a little time with them, however, and their unique differences emerge. Athena has a whip-smart sense of humor; Ani boasts a lovely singing voice; and Ari is a budding fashion designer in the process of creating the trio’s prom gowns.

All three have fine blonde hair, beautiful blue-green eyes and wide smiles.

“I’m the pretty one,” joked Athena.

There are differences, and there are obvious similarities, as well as one similarity that surprised all three sisters.

Each was the recent recipient of a $400 Martin J. Flynn scholarship, which each will put toward her education at Framingham State in the fall.

“We’re so happy about that,” Ari said of the scholarship, likely awarded to triplets for the first time in history. “They took pictures of us afterwards.”

While the mystique of seeing triplets doesn’t seem to get old for those meeting the sisters, one wonders if being triplets gets old for them. With identical grins, the trio emphatically declares it does not.

“We can understand each other in a way that no one else does,” Athena said.

That feeling was a motivating factor in the girls’ decision to attend the same college after graduation. Although some were surprised by the decision, questioning whether it would be a good time for the sisters to find their own paths, the Levesque triplets are well aware that college could mark the last time they get to be together as a threesome, since each has her own plans for the future.

The sisters caution that simply because they look alike and spend a good deal of their lives together does not mean they aren’t unique individuals.

“People don’t realize we’re different people,” said Athena.

While the sisters share similar tastes in music, movies, boys and theater, Ari will be pursuing a career in fashion, while Athena plans on joining the Peace Corps after college. Ani, meanwhile, would love to bask in the glow of a spotlight on Broadway.

“We’re not dependent on each other,” Ari said. “We could right now split up. It’s just that we’re so close. We’re friends.”

They admit to faking out teachers, but state that if a potential boyfriend can’t tell them apart, he’s history. They also feel fortunate that their closest friends have little trouble, if any, telling them apart.

Those who don’t know them well, however, have been subject to precocious pranks, such as convincing friends in the Barnstable High School Drama Club that they were telepathic.

“I think that kind of freaked people out,” said Ani. “There were some people literally believed it.”

The trio began life 18 years ago, entering the world two months prematurely. Athena was the oldest by two minutes, followed by Ani, making Ari the youngest.

They acknowledge that they were dressed alike for years, but upon reaching a fashion-savvy age, developed their own senses of style.

All three have enjoyed the curiosity of others, delighting in portraying Edward Gorey’s The Three Sisters in the Drama Club’s annual haunted house.

This year found the sisters back onstage, with Ani playing Feste, and Athena and Ari playing Viola in “Twelfth Night.”

“Mr. O’Toole gave us leads because he saw something in us,” said Ani.

The BHSDC has fulfilled a desire for fame for the sisters.

“We always wanted to be famous,” said Ari. “To have our own talk show.”

For now, the talk show might come to be at some point, as the sisters prepare to graduate from BHS June 11, and then get ready for college.

One certainty, however, is that no matter where their paths take them, they will always have each other, at Framingham and beyond.

“I don’t think we’ll be split up that much,” said Ari. “I don’t want to spend the rest of my life far away from them.”